


Cameraman

by FloingMachines



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Cameraman AU, Cosima is a lowkey pornstar, DYAD is a filming company, F/F, Leekie is shady as always, everything kind of goes to shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-02
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-03-28 17:36:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 14,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3863440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FloingMachines/pseuds/FloingMachines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Delphine is an aspiring camera-woman working for Leekie, who works under the film titan, DYAD. Shortly after taking up work she is roped into DYAD's plans and discovers an unknown number of secrets and lies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Who doesn't love a good multichapter AU about a camera-woman trying to make a living?

            “Ms. Cormier!” Delphine Cormier groaned sleepily when she answered the phone. It was Leekie on the line _again_. She had answered earlier that morning and hung up the phone when he mentioned ‘filming job’. It was too early to be filming anything of her interests.

            “Good morning.” She grumbled out, sitting up in her bed and running her fingers through her tangled hair. “What could possibly be this important to have to call me twice?” She tried to hide the bitterness in her voice, but was convinced that she didn’t do it too terribly well.

            “I have a quick filming job I need you to do…” His voice trailed off and he sounded uncomfortable at the end of the sentence. It tipped her off pretty quickly that something was up.

            “What would I be filming?” She asked, trying to pry it out of him.

            “It’s, uh, confidential. We just need you over here as fast as possible.”

            “And where are you?”

            He rattled off the address and she sighed. It was on the other side of the city. “Please be punctual.” He concluded the call and she put her phone down. Leekie was elusive, signing her on for more than she could chew most of the time, but he would get her somewhere. A massive Canadian filming company called DYAD was in charge of Leekie and it promised her some sort of future in filming.

            Delphine tripped out of bed and to the coffee pot, starting it and then turning around to head back to her closet to get dressed. Her top was a simple sheer blouse and a billowy black shirt to match. Her makeup and coffee finished at the same time and she sighed as she sat down at the kitchen table. It was only ten in the morning, but she had had a late night and was not looking forward to morning filming.

            Her camera bag was lying in front of the floor and she picked it up with her keys and ran across the street to her car, swinging herself in and starting the engine as it protested. She charged out into city traffic and prayed for the best.

            Thirty minutes later she was turning onto the street where her job was. She parked the car across from the run down row house and picked up her bag and stepped up onto the fading porch. Quietly, she knocked on the door and sucked on her bottom lip as she rocked back and forth. Something didn’t quite seem right.

            Leekie opened the door. He was in a tuxedo. “Ah, Delphine!” He opened his arms for a hug, but she ducked under him, making her way into the small house. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

            “Oui.” She nodded and looked around. What was she supposed to be filming? “What am I here for?” She asked, venturing farther into the house.

            “If you’d follow me upstairs.” He grabbed her arm and she groaned indignantly a little as she pulled away and followed him up the steep steps and to the left of the landing into a small room.

            The room was almost entirely cleared out except for a small bed with a plush comforter. The windows were shut, but lighting was already set up in the corners and on the bed, drinking a glass of wine was a women in loose fitting clothing and dreadlocks.

            The woman took a sip of the wine before looking up, narrowing her eyes. “What?” She asked. Her accent was that of the West coast, her words slurring together comfortably. “Never seen a pornstar drink red wine?”

            Delphine spun to look at the bald man who was shifting uncomfortably. “Aldous!” She exclaimed.

            “You didn’t tell her?” The woman asked, running her hands through the dark dreads. “Isn’t that like illegal?”

            “Aldous you did not tell me this is what we were filming!”

            The three of them stared at each other awkwardly. “It was DYAD’s idea. They told me to bring my best cameraman. In this case it’s a camera-woman.”

            She let out a seething growl before taking the tripod out of the bag. If DYAD had requested this, they meant business. If she refused to film then she could lose her job, Leekie could lose his job, and DYAD could ruin both of their reputations. The woman watched her nervously before Leekie walked outside when his phone rang.

            “Do you want some wine?” She asked. “It helps, you know with the scenario.”

            Delphine laughed a little bit despite herself. “I’m good. I guess if I’m going to be filming you I should introduce. I-uh, je suis desolè about how we met. Took me a bit by surprise, non?”

            “French?” The woman laughed a deep laugh, rising from her chest and bubbling out her mouth. “Well I’m Cosima.”

            Delphine mounted the camera just as Leekie stormed back in. “The other actress canceled.” His voice was deflated. Cosima made a noise of frustration and Delphine stared at her as she sank back onto the bed.

            “Well we have to produce _something_.” Cosima said in frustration. “We very well can’t just tell DYAD that the other actress didn’t show.”

            “Wait.” Delphine looked at the both of them, Leekie now pacing the small room. “ _Actress_?”

            Cosima made another noise of frustration. “Please don’t get into this. Now is not the time.”

            Leekie turned and looked at Delphine as the two women silently faced off. Delphine met his wide-eyed gaze. “No.” She said firmly, shaking her head. “No, no, and _no_.”

            “Do you want some of that wine now?” Cosima asked as Leekie stood in thought.

            “I’m just the cameraman!” She said, putting the lens cap on the camera as she prepared to pack up. “You can’t just expect me to have sex with anyone at the drop of a hat!”

            “Are you insulting me?” Cosima called from the bed.

            “ _Delphine_.” Leekie’s voice was cold and she recoiled at the sound. “You know what DYAD’s capable of if we don’t produce this video.”

            “I know!” She burst out, trying to storm out the door, but Leekie caught her. “I don’t give a damn!” She pushed her way out into the small hallway and slumped against the wall, sliding down, and eventually sitting on the hardwood floor. After a few minutes the door opened. She expected it to be Leekie, but instead it was Cosima who sat down next to her.

            “So what is it?” She asked, not looking at Delphine. “Is it the sex with a girl or the being filmed? I’ve got to say, the filming part gets me a lot of the time.” Delphine didn’t answer. “I really didn’t choose to do this. Well, I did, but college tuition forced me to look for extra money. I know it seems desperate, but it’s true.”

            “I don’t know.” Delphine confessed and Cosima lightly placed her hand on top of hers. “I think it might be both.”

            “So what do you want to do?”

            “What do _I_ want to do?” She laughed. “Since when do I get a say?”

            Cosima shrugged. “It’s your life, you should get a say.”

            Delphine shifted and turned a little bit to look at Cosima who had a healthy blush spreading across her cheeks. “I’m majoring in Evo-Devo.” She began rambling. “It stands for Evolutionary Development and someday it’s going to revolutionize Biology and other organic forms of science. I can’t do that without my Masters, and that takes money and time and…” She trailed off and looked at Delphine.

            “I’ll do it.” She said quietly as if confirming the words herself. “Oui, I’ll do it for you.”

            Delphine placed her other hand lightly on Cosima’s cheek, running her thumb along the skin that she found there. It could only have been a few moments before their lips had connected, Cosima running her tongue along Delphine’s bottom lip as Delphine’s arms scrambled to pull Cosima closer to her.

            A million things were exploding and burning and firing in her head. Red sparks dotted behind her eyes when their tongues met and she felt her eyes almost roll back in her head. This was different, this was right, and it was wrong at the same time, but most importantly it felt right, it felt right to have someone’s lips under hers.

            Cosima tasted of wine and something in-between happiness and sadness. It was utterly intoxicating and when she pulled away, the oxygen rush made her dizzy and hungry for more.

            “You’re a good kisser.” Cosima’s smile was a bit impish and she tugged on her arm lightly, pulling her under again.

            When the door opened, they jumped apart and Leekie stood there, staring down at the two women. Both of them shared the mutual discomfort under his stare, but god forbid either of them says anything. Their situation was already a bit rough.

            “I take it you’re going to do it?” He asked, tapping his foot.

            Delphine nodded. “Oui.”

            Cosima pulled Delphine up and resumed her place on the bed as Delphine walked Leekie through using the camera. It was a brief overview, but then again there wasn’t anything special about this. They needed to be filmed and that was that. It looked like DYAD would get what they were looking for.

            Leekie stood behind the camera and gave the thumbs up once it had started recording. Delphine strode into the frame and Cosima stood up to meet her, her arms settling around Delphine’s waist as the shorter woman stood on the tips of her toes to kiss the former camera woman.

            Cosima, her mouth moving against Delphine’s and enjoying every small sound coming out of Delphine throat, backed her up onto the bed. It broke the kiss as Delphine fell backwards and Cosima fell on top of her, her hands on her waist, her thumbs hooked around the hem of her skirt.

            She looked Delphine in the eye and Delphine nodded a little bit and in one swift move Cosima had her skirt and panties on the floor. Delphine rolled a little bit to the side and pulled off the sheer top and Cosima slipped out of the loose clothing.

            Cosima pushed Delphine on her back again and Delphine gasped at the contact of their skin and her nails scraped Cosima’s back as her mouth found her way to her neck and leaving a trail of goose bumps down to her breasts.

            Cosima shifted herself back up, leaning into Delphine and grabbing one of Delphine’s breasts. “Are you alright?” The whisper was too quiet to be picked up by any camera. Delphine nodded in response and let out a low groan as Cosima moved down again, taking a nipple between her teeth and then soothing it with her tongue.

            Her back was arching, her feet curled and digging into the mattress as Cosima left a trail of sloppy kisses down to her things where she nipped at the skin there, her eyes never breaking with Delphine’s.

            Assorted whimpers and swears were escaping from Delphine as Cosima let her tongue wander across the skin that was there, eventually hitting her clit. “Fuck!” It was loud, almost out of place.

            Cosima hummed as Delphine writhed under her, exploring her with her tongue until in a stream of French and English she went limp under her, pulling her back up and into a kiss.

            Delphine smiled despite herself into the kiss and Cosima began quietly whispering again. “Are you alright? We can stop here…” Delphine nodded a bit as another response. “So you’re alright?”

            Delphine nodded again and flipped Cosima onto her back and her hands roamed up and down her body. Cosima was quieter, her breath hitching when her hands hit her breasts and began to slowly play with them, the way she tangled her hands in Delphine’s curls…

            “Please,” Her voice trailed off a bit, tugging at Delphine’s wrist.

            “Alright.” She smiled a bit and kissed her again as Cosima’s hand guided hers down.

            “Right there.”

            She hesitantly pushed one finger in, watching Cosima buck under her. “Are you alright?” She quietly whispered to her and Cosima nodded, her eyes squeezed shut and her mouth parted slightly.

            Her thumb hit Cosima’s clit suddenly and Cosima let out a sound that sounded somewhere between a low groan and a hiss. She rolled her thumb over it and Cosima went rigid and started convulsing under her until she collapsed, laughing a little bit.

            Delphine lay down next to her, wrapping her arms around the smaller woman in something between adoration and a temporary kind of love. She heard a beep coming from the camera, signaling that the recording was done.

            “Thank you.” Leekie said and strode out of the room without another word. That was the way he always was, expecting you to do what you had to, to keep the business afloat.

            “You sure you’ve never done that before?” Cosima joked, rolling over to face Delphine.

            “Non, I think I would’ve remembered.”

            Cosima laughed again. “Well it was nice meeting you.” Cosima sat up and pulled her loose shirt over her head. “Maybe we’ll meet again, but hopefully under different circumstances.”

            Delphine nodded mutely, absently pulling her own shirt and skirt back on. “Good luck with your science.” She smiled.

            Cosima stood up and went to go walk out the door. “Thanks. Good luck with the filming.”

            Delphine was still sitting on the bed, trying to process what had just happened.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter was a bit of a neckbreaker even for me. It's slowing down a little right now to give you guys some time to recover.  
> If any of you are reading Shots on Broadway, expect an update soon!

            A knock came at the door early next week. Delphine rolled onto her stomach and groaned, trying to come up with words strong enough to tell the visitor to go away and never come back. After a few minutes the knocker got faster and louder and eventually she had no choice but to answer the door.

            She pulled on a pair of sweatpants on the floor and trudged to the door and opened it to find a very wet Cosima Niehaus standing on her doorstep.

            “Cosima?” She asked, rubbing her eyes. The shorter girl was wearing a sweater that had sleeves that were longer than her arms and a pair of shorts. A small backpack was swung over her shoulder and her black glasses were lopsided.

            The rain had caused her dreadlocks to drip slightly and Delphine sighed a little bit as they continued to stare at each other. Was this protocol?

            “Hi.” Cosima said quietly, wringing out her dreads a little bit. “Can I come in?”

            “Yeah, yeah sure.” Delphine stammered and held the door open as Cosima walked in and gingerly put her bag on the table and pulling out a chair for herself and sitting down. Her presence seemed quiet now, in comparison to their last meeting. Delphine shut the door and walked over to the coffee maker.    

            “I’m sorry.” Cosima’s voice was scratchy as she said it, and still quiet.

            “Coffee?” Delphine asked, avoiding eye contact.

            “Yeah, yeah sure.”

            They were silent for a few minutes as the coffee spurted out into the cup and the rain hit the small house and bounced off the roof. The tension in the air was thick and cold as Delphine passed Cosima a cup and drank from her own.

            “How did you find where I live?” Delphine asked, still avoiding eye contact. If it was truly up to her she wouldn’t even ask how, but not many people knew her address and she needed to find out who gave it to her.

            “Well I’m very persuasive when I want to be.”

            “Cosima!”

            Cosima laughed a little bit. “Not like that. I threatened your creepy friend, Alfred I think?”

            “Aldous.” Delphine sighed again and rested her head.

            “Well he has some pretty dark past that I dug up anyways and I threatened him. After like fifteen minutes on the phone he cracked which was surprising but not the point. Then I was like ‘ _oh she films and takes pictures of things she’s gotta have a website’_ and sure enough you do have a website and I guess you forgot you put your address on there too.”

            “Merde. I forgot about that.”

            Cosima laughed a little bit and drank her coffee. “I bet you’re wondering why I’m here. You’re looking at me like I’ve got a third head.”

            “You did randomly show up at my door.” Delphine replied softly. She wasn’t sure why she was so nervous around Cosima, it just _happened_.

            “Well,” her cell phone ringing cut off Cosima. Delphine rushed to get it and then paused. Leekie was calling her. “Who’s calling?” Cosima asked.

            “It’s Aldous.”

            “Don’t answer it!”

            “Why?” Cosima took a step towards Delphine, who in response backed up a bit.

            “You’re not going to like what he tells you.”

            The phone stopped ringing and Delphine walked over to the kitchen counter and slammed it down. “And what would he be telling me?”

            Delphine took a step towards Cosima and that was when Cosima fully realized the height advantage that Delphine had on her. It was almost half of a head and Cosima’s heart began thudding in her chest as Delphine continued to glare at her.

            “DYAD likes you.” Cosima blurted out. “More specifically DYAD likes you and I and and….” Cosima began stuttering, her hands waving everywhere as she talked and her cheeks flushed pink.

            “I knew this was a bad idea.” Delphine turned on her heels and picked up her phone, seeing if there was a voicemail. There wasn’t. “Now he’s going to drive here and tell me himself because you wouldn’t let me answer the damn phone!”  
            “I didn’t want you to think I had anything to do with this!” Cosima’s quiet demeanor from earlier was gone. They were practically yelling at each other now, Delphine taking controlled steps towards the shorter woman.

            “Unfortunately you’ve got everything to do with this! It’s not like I can tell DYAD no that would ruin my filming career not to mention you getting your degree! And then what, Aldous makes a fortune off of selling us and then DYAD gets bored and exposes us anyways?”

            “Hell if I know.”

            They were right in front of each other again, almost touching, there was barely enough room for air in between them and then as if in slow motion Cosima stood up on her toes and lightly pressed her lips to Delphine’s.

            It was like being on autopilot. Delphine had her arms wrapped around the smaller woman’s waist and Cosima was trying to lift herself up into the kiss and a thousand fireworks were going off in Delphine again. She couldn’t explain what they were or where they were coming from, but it felt normal, it felt good to feel Cosima close to her, shaking ever so slightly and a smile light on her lips.

            A knock sounded at the door and Cosima jumped away, looking around frantically. “What do I do?” She hissed, grabbing her bag off the table.

            “Hide!” Delphine pushed Cosima into her bedroom and motioned for the smaller girl to crawl under the lonely bed in the middle. Cosima crawled under, but before she did she shot a venomous glance at Delphine.

            “Delphine!” Leekie called, banging on the door. Delphine sprinted over and flung open the door, breathing hard.

            “Hello Aldous.” She said, straightening herself up and looking at him.

            “Delphine, may I please come in?” he asked. His voice was dripping with something she couldn’t quite place, something that chilled her to the core.

            “No.” She said, defensively blocking the doorway.

            “No?” He asked as a response and then shrugged it off. Delphine was grateful he didn’t push the issue.

            “What do you want?” She wasn’t sure where the surge of bravery was coming from, but she liked it. She liked feeling like she had power.

            “Well there have been some developments with DYAD.”

            “Like what?”

            “You and Cosima, they want to keep producing that.” He gauged her reaction, which was none. She had a near perfect poker face. “They’re willing to pay…”

            Delphine said nothing at first. Leekie looked uncomfortable until he began to shift back and forth on his feet. “Get off of my doorstep.” She commanded and he stumbled backwards a little bit before she turned around and slammed the door.

            She peeked through the shades and watched him get into his car and leave. “Cosima?” She called. “He’s gone.”

            Delphine walked back into her bedroom to find Cosima struggling to crawl out from under her bed. Delphine grabbed her wrist and hauled her out and Cosima laughed and brushed the dust bunnies from her large sweater.          

            “He’ll grow and pair and come back.”

            “I don’t doubt it.”

            Delphine sat on the bed and Cosima sat down next to her, taking her hand in her smaller one. “Are you okay?”

            “I don’t know. The future has just become a lot more uncertain for me and merde, I just don’t know what’s going on.”

            Delphine turned and looked Cosima in the eyes. “It could be worse.” Cosima said. “Your pretty, I’m pretty. Like I said it could be worse.”

            Delphine laughed and Cosima smiled again, squeezing her hand. It was Delphine who kissed her this time, slowly, but with a driving force behind it.

            “Are we going to make this a habit?” Cosima asked lowly. “Kissing and not talking about it?”

            “I think I like kissing and not talking about it.”

            “Alright then.” Cosima laughed and kissed her again. “Let’s kiss and not talk about it.”

           


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which we find out that DYAD is secretive as shit.

            The early morning calls were starting to grate on Delphine’s nerves. The incessant ringing of her phone woke her up early a few days after Cosima had showed up at her door and she had told off Leekie. Delphine gritted her teeth and picked up the device, immediately straightening up when she saw the caller ID. _DYAD_.

            “’Allo?” She answered, trying to wring the sleep out of her voice like water. “This is Ms. Delphine Cormier.”

            “We know who you are, Ms. Cormier.” The voice on the other line was a proper British accent, and to her it sounded like the lady speaking to her had a stick up her ass. “Do you know who I am?”

            “I’m afraid to say that I don’t.” She replied, her attention focused on the conversation.

            “Ms. Cormier I am Rachel Duncan and we are going to come to terms.”

            “Alright?” She answered hesitantly, not sure what that meant.

            “You sound like a frightened child.” Delphine shivered as she said it, her cold voice seeming to chill her brain. “We need you to come in to our Toronto headquarters immediately. We have to work some things out.”

            “Oh, um alright.” Delphine stuttered.

            “Please be punctual.” Rachel’s voice ended with a sharp sigh and the click of a receiver.

            Delphine put her phone on the bedside table and stared at a wall for a second before loudly exclaiming, “Fuck!” and jumping out of the bed and into a cold shower. She didn’t have time to warm it up. She was in and out in five minutes before she ran into the closet and dug out a pair of dress pants and a white blouse.

            Half an hour later her makeup was applied and her hair was dried and curled and she ran out the door into her car. The drive was excruciating, waiting and wondering what exactly this meeting was going to get her into.

            After large amounts of traffic she stumbled into the lobby of the Toronto DYAD building with her bag in tow. She had only been here a few times before, but she knew the protocol.

            “Delphine Cormier to Rachel Duncan.” She said to the receptionist at the counter. The old lady looked up and tipped her bifocals to look at her.

            “She’s expecting you.” Her voice was bored and Delphine followed a long hallway and a long flight of stairs up before she stood, nervously wringing her hands before knocking on the large oak doors.

            “Come in Ms. Cormier.” The voice sounded even more cold and calculated up close and she hesitantly opened the door before stepping in, biting her lip, and looking around.

            Large windows were along the back wall of the office. The office was oblong and large and almost entirely sparkling white save for the desk pressed against the windows at the very center of the room. Sitting in a large office chair, with the back almost turned was a short woman with cropped blond hair twirling a pen.

            “Hello?” Delphine asked, her voice quiet.

            “Please come closer Ms. Cormier, I don’t bite.” Rachel turned around fully, her features stretched into a smile. Delphine took a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk, awkwardly resting her hands in her lap.

            “It is nice to meet you.” Delphine stammered, feeling a hot blush spreading across her face.

            “Hm,” Rachel said, looking at her. “Not the kind of person who would seem to be the type to stand in for a missing actress.”

            “It really wasn’t me,” Rachel cut her off before she could finish the sentence.

            “I really don’t care, Ms. Cormier. What I care about is making this legal which first requires me to destroy the original tape.” She pressed delete on the keyboard and looked up. “And now to make this legal.

            “The people above me liked the illegal video, unfortunately.” The woman looked tired as she said it. “Which means we will be producing more of them, however this requires you to sign a contract for what is it,” She pecked at her keyboard for a second. “Six months.”

            “What about my filming career and identity…?” Rachel cut her off again.

            “You will continue to study under Dr. Leekie, as for your identity DYAD will cover that. Security is of the utmost importance especially when dealing with manners such as this one.”

            Delphine rolled the long and sleek fountain pen along the desk. “What if I were to say no?” Her voice was barely a squeak.

            “DYAD has some very, ah, _persuasive_ ways of convincing people to do what we want.” She wouldn’t meet the French girls’ eyes. “So I suggest you sign.”

            “If I sign, what am I signing on to?”

            “ _When_ you sign this you will be expected to do six months worth of filming with Ms. Niehaus whom you have already met. No more is expected of you. The rest of your life should carry on as planned. Your privacy _will_ be protected in this case.”

            Her eyes scanned the contract. “Should I get a lawyer for this?” She scrunched her eyebrows together.

            “There will be no lawyers involved with this.” Rachel said curtly and turned her chair so that the back of it was facing Delphine.

            She realized that there was no choice but to sign the contract. The odds of Rachel actually answering her questions were getting slimmer by the moment so she picked up the fountain pen, twirled it between her fingers, and signed a curly signature on the paper.

            Delphine remained silent as Rachel took the contract and stood up, straightening out her black dress. “We will be in contact, Ms. Cormier.” She said and stalked out, shutting the door behind her.

            Delphine stood up and walked to the window as if in a trance. She pressed her palm to the window and looked out on the view of the city. _Très belle._ She thought quietly and then realized how high up the woman’s office truly was.

            Suddenly she felt her phone vibrate with a call in her bag. She dug it out and answered quickly. “Good morning this is Delphine Cormier.”

            “Hey Delphine.”

            A grin broke out of Delphine’s face. It was Cosima. “Hey Cos. You’ll never believe the morning I’m having…”

            “Yeah so I was just about to ask about that. Have you checked your email?”

            “Non, I haven’t. Why?”

            “Can you check your email?” Cosima implored.

            “Oui, oui. I’ll do it right now.”

            She took her phone away from her ear and cut out to the home screen. Sure enough, she had another email. It was from an unknown email and it only had one line, an address.

         


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is mainly to alleviate the pain caused by 3x07, or as I like to say don't hit you head on the floor of the ballpit.  
> I just realized instead of thighs in the first chapter i wrote things and now I am astronomically embarrassed.

            They settled into a strange pattern. Only after being in the pattern for a week or so did Delphine begin to realize how truly strange it was. The pattern began with two emails, with an address and a time. The date was always the day after the email was sent.

            Delphine and Cosima would carpool to the address, park the car about a block away and walk to the building separate ways and enter separately where they were greeted, briefed, and spent about five minutes beforehand practicing Delphine’s kissing skills (Cosima would die before she admitted that Delphine didn’t need practice, she just liked kissing her) before they were told to get a move on.

            They would film, the camera crew would leave, and they would ‘practice’ again. Little did Cosima know that Delphine kept up the practices mainly because her lips burned after kissing Cosima and she found herself running her thumb over her lips in the dark hours of the morning, wanting the sensation again.

            Sometimes they would fall asleep in the bed after, Cosima’s face pressed into Delphine’s shoulder and they would wake up and smile (and sometimes kiss again, because it was nice) and sometimes Delphine would drop Cosima off at her house and sometimes they would sit at Delphine’s kitchen table and mix their coffee with wine and talk about the universe.

            The sheets were white when Delphine was thinking about this and she could feel Cosima stir against her with a light laugh. “This, this is a strange cycle.” She said absently, her arms still loosely wrapped around Cosima’s waist.

            “Mm. I think it’s better than some other schedules I’ve had.”

            Delphine laughed in agreement and felt Cosima’s nose fall into one of the dips on her shoulder. “Was that first place your house?” She asked, her voice far off.

            “They were pressed for time and asked to use it, yeah. We had to push all the books around and I couldn’t find anything for the next week. I think that’s why my English grade got so bad all the sudden.”

            “Poor you.”

            Cosima rolled off of Delphine and leveled their eyes, staring into Delphine’s half closed ones. Delphine pulled her lower lip in-between her teeth out of habit, trying to keep her glances away from Cosima’s lips. Delphine and Cosima’s hands intertwined and Delphine felt like someone had held a match to her hand.

            “Can I kiss you?” Cosima’s words caught her off guard and ripped her out of her thoughts and she blindly nodded and the burning sensation was against her lips again, feeling Cosima’s tongue run against her lower lip and it seemed like it was an automatic response when the smaller woman’s thigh found her way between hers and she rolled into it and wrapped her arms around her neck, deepening the kiss.

            Cosima’s nails were scratching at her sides when it occurred to her what was happening and how she felt. She felt like, she felt like she was high or floating or whatever was happening. This wasn’t business, this was something else entirely and it was like a drug addiction. Delphine needed more of this.

            Her eyes were wide as she peered into Cosima’s, which rang clearly with fear and excitement.

            “Not here.” Delphine mumbled, ducking away from the smaller woman. “I’m assuming you don’t want me to drop me off at your house?”

            Cosima shook her head before pressing another quick kiss against the blonde’s lips and they rolled out of the bed that wasn’t theirs and hastily pulled on their clothes and smoothed out their tangled hair before tripping for a block down the sidewalk and they collapsed against Delphine’s car, laughing.

            “You have no idea how to walk straight.” Delphine said as they got into the car and pulled out into the traffic. Cosima laughed and swatted her arm.

            “ _You_ almost tripped into the street.”

            “Only because you pushed me.”

            They were both giggling and then suddenly they fell silent. “Were you serious?” Cosima asked. “About going back to your place?”

            Delphine nodded, her eyes on the road. “ _Oui_.”

            “Alright.” It seemed like Cosima didn’t know what she was doing; her hands were folding and unfolding nervously. “Are you sure, I mean I don’t want to pressure you…”

            They hit a traffic light and Delphine leaned over from the driver’s seat and pressing a rough kiss against Cosima’s lips, their tongues running together and then she jumped back when a loud beep from the cars behind them startled them and she slammed her foot on the gas pedal.

            The car was hastily parked outside her hose before she let herself and Cosima in and they dropped their jackets onto the kitchen table and stared at each awkwardly as if to say _what now?_

            In a moment of bravery Delphine surged forward and kissed Cosima, her hands cupping the shorter woman’s face as they blindly stumbled backwards into Delphine’s room, Cosima falling back on the bed, tugging at Delphine’s shirt as the blonde pushed the cardigan off her shoulders.

            This wasn’t like before. This was voluntary and this was perfect. It was heaven and hell all at once as they pushed the remaining clothing off one another and their skins were set on fire by each other’s touch.

            Cosima took Delphine’s shoulders in her hand and flipped her over, her hand running up and down the inside of Delphine’s thighs as her light cries filled the room. Her nails dug in a little bit and then she pulled away as Delphine whimpered slightly, her eyes expanding.

            “This is not just sex.” Cosima declared and Delphine bit her lip and nodded because it wasn’t.

            “This is not just sex.” Delphine echoed and nodded as Cosima’s hands resumed their original position and they began to rock against each other and the remains of their lipstick and makeup were smeared against each other’s skin once again.

 

* * *

 

            Delphine woke up, wrapped in her lavender colored sheets alone. She was still naked and panic gripped her as she remember the previous events and her fingers found the warm other side of the bed.

            She ripped the sheets off the bed and wrapped them around herself as she padded out into the kitchen to find Cosima holding a coffee cup and a bottle of white wine. A moment later Cosima glanced up and smiled before setting the cup and the bottle down on the table.

            Cosima walked over and stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her lips to Delphine’s. “This isn’t practice anymore.”

            “ _Non_. I don’t believe so.”

            They both laughed and sat down at the table before Cosima inspected the wine bottle. “I’m surprised you haven’t drank all this yet.” She joked.

            “My parents…my parents gave it to me to try and convince me not to get into the filming business. They were convinced it would lead no where so they figured ‘give her a bottle of fine wine and she’ll change her major’.”

            “So why haven’t you used this up yet?”

            “Mostly to spite them I think.”

            Cosima laughed. “Do you think we could open it?”

            “Not if you’re going to pour it in your coffee.”

            They both laughed and Delphine took the bottle from Cosima and put it back on the shelf before facing her again. Cosima was the first one to say anything. “What does this mean? If it means anything?”

            “ _Je ne sais pas_.” Delphine admitted, shaking her head and looking down at her hands. “I don’t know exactly.”

            “Hey that’s alright. As long as we’re still on good terms.” Cosima laughed and Delphine smiled a bit.

            “You said that it wasn’t just sex. What was it?”

            It was Cosima’s turn to blush now. “Delphine, I really like you and in the moment I just kinda assumed you felt the same way…”

            Delphine pressed her index finger to Cosima’s lip. “Shhhhh.” She cooed. “I feel that way too.”

          

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT EVERYONE!  
> So as you know, summer is rapidly approaching. I am going to be gone for almost all of June, July, and early August which means I will be gone for two months without updating. Yes, I said two months. So that means the update after this one is going to be the last one until mid-August.  
> I am so sorry for this guys  
> XOXO, Lara  
> Note: This also applied to my Agent Carter thing, Shots on Broadway.  
> DOUBLE NOTE: I might not get around to updating this again before I leave because scheduling. Sorry guys. <3


	5. Chapter 5

            “Ms. Cormier.”

            Delphine was definitely getting tired of hearing Rachel’s voice in the mornings. “Good morning Ms. Duncan.” She replied, her voice sounding like gravel.

            “I am here to talk about your…agreements.”

            _Of course that’s all you can fucking talk about. That’s your job, to meddle with my life, isn’t it? Yes, yes that’s what you’re paid for._

            “Hey who is it?” Cosima whispered sleepily, her eyes still closed, her thumb tracing intricate circles on Delphine’s hip, her eyes closed and her lips smiling faintly. Delphine pressed her index finger to her lips and Cosima’s eyes shot open and looked at the blond who was propped up on one elbow as she held her phone to her ear with her other hand.

            “Ms. Duncan do I need to meet you today?” She asked, trying to blink the sleep out of her eyes. Cosima’s mouth formed an ‘O’ shape at the mention of Rachel’s name and her eyebrows scrunched together as she watched Delphine.

            “No, talking over the phone will be fine. DYAD wishes for me to talk to you about the videos you and _Cosima_ have been producing. They would like you to take it to another level.”

            “ _Excusè-moi_?” Delphine asked, slightly startled. _What did they mean? Did they know that they were seeing each other outside of all this? Well not seeing seeing each other, more like they had sex when they got the chance but they just called it practice…Jesus Christ Delphine listen to what Rachel-fucking-Duncan is saying. She could wipe you off the face of the map._

            “In DYAD’s exact words they would ‘Greatly appreciate it if the sex was…” Her voice stumbled a little bit and Delphine swore she could hear the blood rushing to the British woman’s face over the phone. “More intense.”

            “ _D’Accord_?” Delphine was still tired enough that she was lapsing in and out of French. “Okay?”

            “There are no further questions?”

            “ _Non_ , I’ve got it.”

            “I will be calling your associate shortly.”

            Delphine put the phone on the bedside table and Cosima rolled over and rested her head on her stomach, her brown eyes peering into Delphine’s. Very quietly she whispered _un, deux, trois_ and only a few moments later Cosima’s phone rang and she answered it.

            Cosima had to stand up and race out of the room (Naked, Delphine thought she needed to amend that) and she came striding back in with her phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder as she turned absently in slow circles (giving Delphine an unintended great view of her ass in Delphine’s unprofessional opinion) as she talked to Rachel.

            “No, but what if she’s not comfortable with that? What! No, no _I’m_ fine I’m asking about her. _You did practically hold a gun to the poor woman’s head_. Rachel we are talking about real people here we have real lives and Delphine may not be comfortable with that!” Cosima glanced up and met Delphine’s wide eyes. “Did you seriously just threaten me? Or is that DYAD controlling you?” Cosima sighed and looked like she was about to cry. “Fine. I have no choice but to agree to the terms? Whatever then. I agree.”

            Cosima tossed her phone on the floor and Delphine winced at the thud and Cosima collapsed backwards onto the bed, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’m sorry, sometimes I get upset about how _controlling_ they are. They just don’t think.”

            “I’m sorry _ma chèrie_.” Delphine answered, tangling her hand in the dreadlocks splayed out on the bed.

            “I’m assuming you got the same call?” Cosima asked, opening her eyes and scooting back up the bed.

            “ _Oui_.”

            “And we agreed to the terms?” Cosima asked, grabbing both of Delphine’s hands and looked at her. “You agreed to the terms?”

            “I’m not exactly sure what the terms entail.”

            “Well Rachel said and I quote ‘DYAD doesn’t want any fluffy shit anymore. They want this rough’.”

            “Oh.” Delphine trailed off.

            “It’s fine, it’ll be fine we’ll work something out. It’s a company; we’re what make it run. They have to bargain with us.”

            Delphine’s mind was elsewhere. It was somewhere in-between thinking about Cosima, sex, Cosima and sex, and sex and Cosima. It was strange because it was everything and nothing together all at once. Her subconscious tingled and her eyes shut slowly and she fell backwards like she was in maple syrup.

            “Yo Delphine, you alright?”

            “Just thinking.”

            “About what?” Cosima was floating above her, smirking. A blush colored Delphine’s neck and cheeks.

            “I’m not sure.”

            “You can tell me.”

            “I was thinking about you.”

            “Okay. Care to elaborate?”

            “I was thinking about you and Rachel and maybe a little bit about sex.”

            Cosima curled the blonde’s hair around her finger. “At the same time?”

            “ _Non_. Not like that…just thinking.” 

            “Just thinking?”

            Cosima’s nose was barely above Delphine’s, her palm splayed on her inner thigh, making Delphine bite her lip to bring her back to reality to stop her eyes from rolling into the back of her head.

            A soft sound came out of the back of her throat and Cosima smiled, kissing Delphine and feeling the other woman push back with force, grabbing her forearm and feeling the urge to push her away and pull her impossibly closer as she felt a metaphorical match lit under her.

            “Do you want this?” Cosima nipped at her ear causing a low moan to roll out of her mouth as the hand not moving up and down her thigh traced circles around her breast.

            She nodded, wordless, everything caught in her stomach and her throat and she wanted to give in. Every fiber in her being was screaming to just _give in_ to this eternal fire.

            “Say it.” Cosima’s voice was low and rolling like thunder. “Say you want this.”

            “ _God_.” It came out choked like it was caught in her throat and Cosima moved her mouth to her neck where she took the skin she found between her teeth and then smoothed it over with her tongue, placing kissing that made it impossible for Delphine to concentrate.

            “Say it.” Cosima mumbled against Delphine’s skin. She felt like she was boiling, like she was going to break out of her skin. This wasn’t like previous encounters, this was hot and this is what they wanted and this was what _she_ wanted and that worked _that worked_.

            “ _Je te veux_.” She gasped, her hands grasping at the sheets; at Cosima’s bare skin as she felt the smaller woman’s fingers barely ghost over her clit, catching a little bit on the small curls they found. “I want you.”

            Anything coherent was lost the moment Cosima pressed her lips to Delphine’s nipple and plunged in two fingers as her back arched and she let out something between a scream and something else, rolling into Cosima, repeating her name like a record or a prayer.

            This wasn’t like before. If before was a fire, this was the sun, this was the entire universe behind her eyes and under her skin and searing her throat and body clean. This was everything and nothing behind her body and behind her movements and what was behind her answering a half cried out ‘yes’ when Cosima asked if she wanted more and she felt everything rush to her brain.

            Delphine felt _whole_. In some twisted sense Cosima made her feel whole and in this moment she felt Cosima and she felt her body thrash around as Cosima hastily kissed her and was surprised when she had the state of mind to kiss her back as her cries were swallowed by her lover and her body was wracked with spasms and she knew that they were moving at the same time as Cosima placed gentle kisses on her face and neck and collar before slowly pulling out of her.

            This was cloud nine. This is what it was like to be there and then to fall into its black embrace and through distorted vision she could see Cosima settling next to her as her chest heaved and Cosima’s lips formed words she couldn’t hear until she pressed her hand to her shoulder.

            “Are you alright?” Cosima’s eyebrows were knit together.

            “ _Incroyable_.” It escaped her lips and Cosima smiled and Delphine ran her thumb over the tattoo she found on Cosima’s forearm.

            “The golden ratio.” Cosima mumbled, averting her eyes. “It appears everywhere and now it appears on my tattoo. God I’m such a nerd.”

            She was smitten. Delphine knew it in her heart and she suspected Cosima did too. She adored everything about the small girl before her and could not conceive how boring her life must have truly been before she met her a few short months prior.

            “I’ve got to go to work.” She admitted quietly, moving to get up, but Cosima grabbed her arm and pressed a brief kiss to her lips.

            “Yeah me too.” Cosima rested her nose on hers.

 

* * *

 

            “What are you smiling about?” Aldous asked as a brief grin painted her face when she remembered the previous events and set up the small black camera.

            “I am allowed to smile Aldous.”

            He sighed. He wasn’t in the mood for smiling. “DYAD isn’t liking what we’re putting out right now!” He was frustrated and growled as Delphine fixated the camera on the tripod in the field.

            “Then let me have this assignment to myself. It’s just a nature assignment. You can bother yourself with your other shit.”

            He looked like he was about to hit her and then paused. “Fine, fine you can have the project.” He pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb. “This better turn out good.”

            He walked back up the dirt path and drove off in his car, leaving Delphine alone in the autumn field.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because you all have been so good. This is the last update until August.  
> Note: Shots on Broadway (Agent Carter) will not be updated until August.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I present my latest child: the Cameraman update! Yay! Thank you for the support on this personally I love writing this and hope to continue writing into the school year.  
> Today we see something new: The emergence of the real point of writing this (besides have an excuse to write a bunch of sex scenes this does have a plot somewhere)

            “What exactly is your film assignment?” Delphine asked through her car speaker as she drove down the highway, leading away from the set.

            “Photograph that area.” Leekie sounded like he really didn’t want to hear her voice right now.

            “I need you to tell me what _exactly_ the assignment was. Can there be people in the shoot? What kind of tone are they looking for and are we waiting for specific weather? What does DYAD want?”

            The man on the other end of the phone let out an annoyed sigh. “I’ll just forward you the email they sent me when I was first assigned this. The assignment was vague, so I’m not sure how much this will help you.”

            “How many pictures do they want?”

            “ _It’s in the email, Delphine_.”

            “ _Merci beaucoup_.” She said and hung up before he could get another word in.

            She hated working with him, even more so over the past few months. Delphine knew she couldn’t have gotten luckier to work with him and his skills when she was looking for a job with a photography agency from France, but there was still a part of her that hated the way he looked down on her. It felt like there would always be a part of her that loathed the way he acknowledged her existence.

            However now this project was hers and she had so many ideas on what she could do with a field of flowers. It was the sheer beauty of photography that you could take something and stand in just the right place and suddenly it was a statement, not just a field that you could take at face value. It was moments like these when her ideas seemed to race out of her head and through the space around her that she lived for. _This_ was why she was a photographer.

            Her phone buzzed, affirming the deliver of Aldous’s email. Then her phone rang and after tapping a few buttons on the car’s steering wheel she was able to answer the call.

            “’Allo, this is Delphine Cormier speaking.” She said and then slammed down on the breaks just in time to see a biker crossing the street at a red light.

            “Hello Ms. Cormier.” The perfect lilting British of Rachel’s voice made her want to slam her head into the steering wheel without an airbag repeatedly. “I’m glad that I could get ahold of you. Can you talk right now?”

            “ _Oui,_ yes of course I am in the car.”

            “You may have noticed that you haven’t gotten an…” Her voice trailed off as if she was too dignified to say it.

            “Assignment?” Delphine offered as the car lurched forward again.

            “Yes, thank you. Do you have any questions about that?”

            This whole conversation was a minefield. “I thought I would let Leekie or yourself contact me.” _Please let my voice not be shaking_ she prayed silently.

            “Well now that I am contacting you, do you have any questions?”

            This whole conversation was loaded. “Why _haven’t_ I gotten an assignment in a few days?” She asked cautiously.

            “Well DYAD is working on extending your contract. Just thought you would like to stay informed.”

            Delphine forced a smile even though she knew Rachel couldn’t see her. “Thank you for keeping me informed.”

            “It is my pleasure Ms. Cormier.” The other woman replied and then dropped the line.

            “Fucking hell.” The words left her mouth and she slammed her hand into the dashboard as she sat at the stop sign. She felt her mouth twitch slightly as if to warn her that there would be tears and she bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying. That wouldn’t do any good right then.

            She turned onto her street and parked the car before marching into her house and throwing the keys on a side table and she collapsed at the kitchen table, slamming her fist into the wood before laughing.

            Then her phone rang _again_.

            “Hello?” She asked, not even trying to hide her irritation.

            “Delphine?” Cosima’s voice came in gingerly through the speakers. “Delphine are you okay?”

            “Damn it, Cosima.” She said into the telephone. “Why didn’t I see this coming, why didn’t I see any of it coming?” She shook her head and laughed. “No lawyers, of course there are no lawyers. I bet none of this is even legal…”

            “Delphine I’ll be over in five minutes. Are you going to be alright until then?”

            “I think I can last five minutes _ma Cherie._ ” She said and laughed again but realized too late that she wanted Cosima to stay on the phone. Let her know that everything would be all right. It was no matter now; she would be over in a few minutes.

            The minutes seemed to drag on for hours and her fingers hit the table with an irritating predictability and _god_ she just wanted to cry. She thought she could get out of this unscathed, come out of her little adventure with Cosima and some work under her belt and no one would ever know, there would be no repercussions and she could just be happy. _There is no such thing as happy_ she hiccupped when she thought that and clenched her hands into fists to stop from screaming.    

            _I am happy! I am happy with Cosima!_ The words rattled in her head as she screamed at herself.

            _No one is ever truly happy! Snap out of your little adventure!_ Her own words stung her like bullets and her jaw clenched as she fought the urge to start speaking out loud.

            “I _am_ happy!” Her voice cut the air, shrill and shrieking and then she covered her mouth and looked around, realizing she was still alone. Tears were streaming down her face and she bounced up and began pacing the small house. “I am happy the way it is now, I don’t want it to change, I don’t want it to change…”

            There was a knocking at the door and she wiped the tears off her cheeks and answered it. Cosima was standing on her doorstep in a huge concert shirt with shorts peaking out underneath from the edges. Her glasses were on a tilt, but she wasn’t smiling like usual. Instead she was serious and held her laptop under one arm and pushed past Delphine into the house.

            “We’re going to get to the bottom of this.” The smaller woman said as she placed the computer down on the table. “I highly doubt any of this is legal anyhow.”

            “I am sorry, I mean I could just sign the new contract…”

            “Delphine don’t you get it! First of all, I don’t think these contracts are legal!” She bounced out of the chair and began to pace. “Second of all this is not alright! This is not what you signed up for and what goes on outside of that ‘contract’ isn’t DYAD’s business! Third, I don’t think there’s going to _be_ another contract I’d bet any amount of money that would illegally tape your conversations over the phone so don’t contact Rachel just yet…” Cosima’s voice trailed off and she seemed at a loss of words. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you in that position.”

            “What?” it was Delphine’s turn to be baffled, turning to look at Cosima.

            “When we first met. You were just the Cameraman you can’t ask the Cameraman to just substitute themselves into porn and a whole photography and filming company can’t just smite someone for the actions of others! I’m just, I’m ranting. What I meant was that I’m sorry for the position you’re in now…because of me.”

            “ _Cosima_.” The word was hoarse and rough like sandpaper. “ _Cosima_ this is not entirely your fault. What is happening now is happening beyond our control.” Delphine took a step towards the other woman and another until she was standing so close that she could feel the scientist’s breath on her skin. Gone was the raging Delphine from before, the crying and the fear. “Cosima what has happened between _us_ hasn’t been DYAD. It’s been real, it’s been real.”

            “They can’t take that away from us.”

            Delphine gathered Cosima in her arms and pulled her in for a hug as she felt the force of it crush the air out of our lungs. “They can’t take what wasn’t theirs in the first place away.”

            Cosima looked up at Delphine, unsmiling but less sad than before. “We’re going to fix this.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Later this week Shots on Broadway (my Cartinelli multichapter) will be updated too! It's really an exciting time over here.


	7. Chapter 7

            “Where are we going?” Cosima asked as Delphine’s car rattled down the highway. Delphine’s hand was resting on Cosima’s and the other was gripping the steering wheel.

            “You remember that I do photography, _non_?” She asked, smiling as the car took a turn down another road. Her camera bag was sitting in the backseat next to a blanket and a picnic basket. Cosima hadn’t seen the basket yet and she was hoping to keep it a surprise until the last minute.

            “How could I forget?” She asked and they stopped at a red light.

            “Well I have an assignment and I want to photograph you, _ma cherie_.”

            “Really?”

            “Yes of course I do.”

            “Do I have to sign any forms of consent to any of this or what?” Cosima then started laughing after she said it, the laugh starting real and end dry and brittle, laced with sarcasm.

            “It’s DYAD what do you think?”

            Cosima shook her head. “I mean I would’ve thought they would be more concerned for their little minions than this.”

            Delphine swatted Cosima’s arm. “You are not a minion right now.” She said. “Just the subject of a photograph.”

            “Now it sounds like I’m one of my own lab mice.”

            “Stop it, this will be fun.”

            The car pulled onto a dirt road, the trees arching above the car letting dappled sunlight hit the car. The little sedan wasn’t meant to go over bumpy roads and Cosima was gripping Delphine’s hand and the door handle as they continued to bump along the quiet road until they reached an open field filled with little white flowers and tall grass.

            “This is the assignment?” She asked as Delphine pulled the car into a space behind a bush.

            Delphine reached into the backseat and grabbed the blanket and her camera bag. The two of them stepped out of the car and walked into the center of the field, looking at the blue sky and direct sunlight overhead. Delphine spread out the blanket on the ground and then flattened it out.

            “ _Mon amour_.” She said quietly and Cosima looked up. “Could you come here please?”

            Cosima felt like she was floating as she walked towards Delphine and Delphine embraced her in a hug. “What do you need me to do?” Cosima asked, her voice muffled by Delphine’s shoulder.

            “I need you to pretend that you’re sleeping on the blanket.” Delphine said as Cosima stretched out on the blanket. “And I’m going to put flowers in your hair.”

            Cosima giggled as Delphine threaded the little white flowers through the other woman’s dreadlocks. They stuck out awkwardly between her dark dreads and Delphine placed a kiss on her forehead. Cosima had a small smile on her face, like she had a happy secret and was content on keeping it to herself, content in the moment.

            “Do I need to be perfectly still?” Cosima asked as Delphine paced back a little bit, setting up her camera.

            “Not perfectly still.” She explained. “It’s supposed to be real, if the camera picks up a little movement that’s alright.”

            “What do I do with my arms? What about my hands?”

            “Wherever it feels natural, Cosima.” Her voice was soft. They were alone. This was the perfect shot, the blue sky and the sun overhead and Cosima just lying there perfectly undisturbed… This shot was like everything that she wanted for them in life but couldn’t have. She tucked her legs under her, watching Cosima’s chest rise and fall and her lips quirk upwards into a small smile. Her own lips formed a bittersweet smile as she looked at her. “ _Très belle._ ” She whispered to herself before lowering closer to the ground and looking through the viewfinder on the camera.

            It was a perfect moment. It was easily one of the most beautiful moments she had ever seen and leaves floated down from trees around the edge of the clearing and into the shot. One landed on Cosima’s hands, folded over her stomach and it stayed there. It didn’t move, it just balanced there, perfectly green and natural amongst the shot.

            “You are beautiful.” She said, just loud enough for Cosima to hear.

            “Have you seen yourself?”

            Delphine put the camera down and walked over to Cosima and laid down next to her, holding one of Cosima’s hands and tracing the lines crisscrossing her hands.

            “ _Je t’aime_.”

            “I love you too, Delphine.”

            The sun was hurting her eyes, but she found herself completely unable to move from the moment. She didn’t want to move, she just wanted to stop everything to be in that moment. She would stop the planets for Cosima, she was sure of it. She would stop the whole universe for her if she needed to.

            “ _Je voudrais arrêter les étoiles pour vous_.” She said, feeling Cosima roll over and wrap her arms around her body. “ _Je t’aime_.”

            “I love you so much.” Cosima whispered. “You have no idea.”

            “I have a surprise for you, _mon amour_.” Delphine detangled herself from Cosima’s arms and walked back to the car, throwing the camera back in the bag and taking out the picnic basket. She sat cross-legged next to Cosima and tapped her shoulder. “Open your eyes.”

            Cosima propped herself up on one elbow and grinned, watching Delphine pour the wine from her parents she had never opened into a small glass cup and handing it to Cosima. Cosima sat up, facing Delphine on the blanket and didn’t break eye contact as she slowly took a sip of the red wine before setting the glass down softly.

            Delphine poured some into her glass and Cosima picked up hers and they knocked together, the unnatural sound ringing through the area. “To the future.” Cosima said.

            “To a bright future.” Delphine took some sandwiches out of the basket and put them on a plate. Then she took out a box of truffles and set them down next to the sandwiches.

            “Are those truffles?” Cosima asked.

            “ _Oui_.” Delphine answered.

            “Very French.” The other woman teased.

            “Well I am French.”

            Cosima giggled and popped another truffle into her mouth and took another sip of wine. Her head tipped back and she closed her eyes and smiled. _This is a perfect picture this is too perfect_. Delphine thought. _Everything is so perfect_.

            “God, I love you.” Cosima murmured, their hands entangling again. “God I love you so much I haven’t been this happy with someone in so long.”

            “I love you too, _ma Cherie_.” Delphine pressed a kiss to the top of Cosima’s hand, her longer fingers tracing patterns on the soft skin she found there. “ _Je t’aime, Je t’aime mon amour_.”

            They looked at each other for a moment, the sun hitting the brunette’s face and bouncing off of the lenses of her glasses. It was only a moment, but it was another one that she wished she could stop and live in forever, looking at Cosima, being with her.

            Their lips collided, Cosima’s hands running through her curls as their lips met with the force of a hurricane, tipping Delphine backwards onto the grass with Cosima on top of her, tracing her lips with her tongue. The power of the moment was enough to send Delphine reeling into an abyss, enough to light her on fire the way it always did. She was sure she would never get tired of this, that none of this would ever get old. She was sure she wanted to look at Cosima’s face for the rest of her life.

            “We should go.” Cosima gasped in-between Delphine pulling her in for more kisses. “We should go before someone shows up.”

            “No one will show up _mon amour_.” She assured, running her thumb across the other woman’s jawline and admiring the shy smile she got in return.

            The moment was broken when both of their phones pinged at the same time. Cosima rolled off of Delphine and both scrambled for their phones, rapidly opening them and checking…

            “ _Merde_.” Delphine said, opening the email and shaking her head.

            “Shit we really need to go.”

            They had to dump their glasses of wine and haphazardly packed the car up, flying out of the dirt road. Delphine’s hands were shaking as she gripped the steering wheel and turned onto the main road.

            “This is a little short notice.” She gasped as Cosima programmed the GPS in her phone and propped it up on the console.

            “It’s fine.” Cosima said, trying to hide the worry in her voice.

            “I’m worried that one of these times we’re not going to be in a bed that they’re going to have us have sex in the shower and I’m going to slip and die.” Delphine said, blowing a stop sign.

            “Are you sober enough to be driving?”

            “I’m not stupid _mon amour_.” Delphine warned, taking a sudden right.

            “I mean kitchen sex isn’t that bad…” Cosima said, slamming into the door as Delphine made another sharp turn.

            “How would you know that?” Delphine asked, irritation creeping into her voice as she drove.

            “Do we need to go into this?”

            She sighed. “No, but don’t you share the same concern?”

            “Showering? Yeah. Anything else I don’t really care, you feel? You just kind of become numb to it after a while. WAIT! Turn left here!”

            The car made a screeching sound and the GPS said they were at their destination. It was an old row home and both of them were rattled from the drive and were shaking when they got out of the car.

            “That was intense.” Delphine said, shaking her head.

            “Yeah tell me about it.”

            They entered the house together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still haven't updated Shots on Broadway...I'm a terrible person.  
> High school has started back up so updates are still going to be dodgy.  
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for an *singsong voice* UPDAAAAATTTTEEE  
> Enjoy guys (it had to be shortened, but it will be continued next chapter ;D)

            “I feel like this has turned into going through the motions.” Cosima said as she kicked her feet up on the dashboard. Rain was pouring down, drowning out almost anything but their voices in the car. “We get a short notice call or email, you’re probably not sober enough to drive, I get in the passenger seat and tell you you’re not sober enough to drive, you drive anyways, you blow a few red lights, and then we end up having sex on camera and that’s how we make a living. I also don’t know how we haven’t gotten arrested yet.”

            “ _Cosima_.” Delphine warned. “I would not drive drunk.”

            “I mean I’ve driven high…”

            “Cosima!”

            Cosima leaned her head against the dashboard, staring at Delphine as she drove. “You’re really pretty.” She said quietly.

            Delphine felt the blood rise to her face and she suppressed a small laugh. “Thank you _mon amour_.” Her smile disappeared quickly as thoughts of Rachel flooded her mind. They had still not gotten to the bottom of her or the ways she was twisting the contract around and tying them into what seemed to be an endless deal. “What about Rachel? Have you heard from her?”

            “Nah, what about you?”

            “She’s planning something, Cosima.”

            Cosima took one of Delphine’s hands from the wheel and held it in her, squeezing it gently. “I’m sorry, Delphine.”

            “When will you stop apologizing for something that is not your fault?”

            “I dunno, I just feel like it’s my fault.”

            “Why?” Delphine’s mouth formed into a frown as she looked at the brunette. “How is any of this your fault?”

            “I told you I can’t explain it, it just feels like it is.”

            “Cosima.”

            “What?”

            “I love you very much, you know that?”

            Cosima smiled and looked down for a moment, trying to think of what to say as she giggled a little bit. “I love you too. I just…”

            “Just what?”

            “I just wish it was under different circumstances.”

            Delphine swerved the car onto the side of the road. The rain came down heavier and Delphine turned the car off and faced Cosima. She gathered the smaller woman’s face in her hands and looked her in the eyes, letting the tension build up between them.

            “Cosima.” She said very quietly. “I love you.” She kissed her cheek and left a slowly trail down her neck, enjoying the small groan Cosima made when she ended in the hollow if her neck, leaning over the car’s center console and her hands slowly creeping up her spine.

            “Delphine,” Cosima gasped. “Delphine I swear we’re almost there…”

            “I don’t care.” Delphine replied, her voice low and beginning to undo the buttons on the front of Cosima’s shirt. “God, I want you.”

            “You’re about to have sex with me,” Delphine pushed the shirt off of her shoulders, pressing more open mouthed kisses in the valley between her breasts. “In a car, in public, on the side of the road.” Her head tipped back as Delphine unclasped her bra and let it fall behind her with her shirt. “Man, I have corrupted you since we first met.”

            “I don’t hear you arguing.”

            “Mm, I’m not.”

            Delphine and Cosima had locked eyes, a playful smile dancing across Cosima’s lips when there was a knock at the door.

            Delphine jumped back into the driver’s seat and Cosima hurriedly tried to pull her shirt back on, trying to remove the blush from her face as the knock sounded at the door again and Cosima tried to button her shirt even faster, her hands shaking a little as she did. Cosima made little hand motions at Delphine hissing for her to ‘open the damn door’ and Delphine straightened out her clothes and opened it, smiling broadly.

            “Hello Ma’am,” He glanced into the car around Delphine, noticing the mildly disheveled Cosima (who was trying to hide her discarded bra). Red quickly colored his face and he cleared his throat. “I saw a car swerve off the road and I just wanted to make sure everything was all right.”

            He was clearly uncomfortable. “Everything is fine Officer,” She glanced at his nametag. “Officer Hendrix. I just needed to check my phone and I did not want to do it while I was driving.”

            “Okay Ma’am, just get home safe.” He shut the door and they watched his car speed away in front of him and Delphine let out a long breath.

            Cosima broke out in hysterical laughter, her head hitting the dashboard. “Oh. My. God.” Her words punctuated by more fits of laughter. “We are going to be _sooo_ late but did you see the look on his face? Oh my god, Delphine!”

            “Cosima put on your seat belt, we’re going to be late.”

            “How late?” She restarted the car and glanced behind her as she tried to see what was coming on the highway so she could rejoin the movement.

            “Well as of right now we’re fifteen minutes late.”

            “Cosima,” The words were drawn out, almost childlike. “What is going to happen now? Now that we’re late?”

            “Delphine, I’m going to have to tell you that what you did right then was really hot and quite frankly I don’t really care how late we are because once we get wherever we’re going you are going to fuck me. So quit talking about how late we are and drive.”

            Delphine felt her face heat up and she couldn’t think of an appropriate response as she pulled out onto the highway and began to drive again. A few minutes into the drive her phone began to ring.

            “Cosima can you answer that?” She asked. “Who is it?”

            “Hello, this is Ms. Cormier.” Cosima imitated in her most over the top fake French accent. Delphine rolled her eyes as it happened (secretly adoring how stupidly cute it was). “Oh uh,” Cosima cleared her throat and glanced at Delphine nervously. “Hi Rachel. What? Oh no, nothing just some traffic we’ll be right there. Do you need me to put this on speaker phone?”

            Delphine shook her head no as Cosima shrugged and clicked the speakerphone button and grinned.

            “Hell Ms. Cormier.” Rachel said through the phone and Delphine gritted her teeth as she slammed on the brakes just in time to not blow through the red light. “This is actually Ms. Cormier, I presume.”

            “ _Oui_ , it is.” She said nervously.

            “Why is Ms. Niehaus in your car?”

            They glanced nervously at each other as Delphine tried to come up with a response fast enough. “Her car broke down.” She lied. “I had told her to text me if she ever, uh, needed a ride. We’re stuck in some traffic, but we’ll be right there.”

            “Are you sure that’s the only reason she’s in your car?”

            “ _Oui_ , Ms. Duncan.” The light changed and the car moved forward.

            “I expect you to be punctual from now on, is that clear?”

            “Of course, thank you for understanding.”

            The line clicked off and Cosima dropped the phone, leaning her head back on the seat and letting out air. “Do you think she believed it?”

            “I’m not sure.” Delphine shook her head.

            “Hey, it’s all going to be alright. She’s just a bitch.”

            “Yeah I know.” Delphine shrugged.

            “Seriously man, calm down. We got this.”

            Delphine nodded her head and echoed the smaller woman. “We’ve got this.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find me at machinerisms.tumblr.com


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Orphan Black Friday! Here's an Update!

            “ _Je desolè,_ ” Delphine walked into the house with Cosima close behind her. “The rain…it held us up.” The normal camera crew was sitting around a kitchen table, most of them smoking and playing poker. “What’s going on?” She asked. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Cosima take a can of Coke out of the fridge.

            One of the men who ran the lighting set his cigarette down and glanced over his shoulder. “Men with the cameras got into a car accident.” He shook his head. “Not a bad one, but they won’t be here with the equipment for about two or three hours.” He shrugged and took a drag on the cigarette. “You can go get lunch if your girlfriend if you want it’s not like any of us really care.”

            “Can I have a cigarette?” She asked, approaching them cautiously. They all glanced at each other and he shrugged before someone tossed him one and he handed it to her. She took it and rooted around a couple of the kitchen drawers for a matchbook before heading towards the sliding back doors that led to a small back porch.

            She slid open the door and leaned against the railing, water falling onto her as she struck the match against the book and held the cigarette to her lips and lit it, letting the smoke trail away. She sighed and took another drag, stifling a cough as she did it. It had been a long time since she had actually smoked a cigarette, but the numbing effect it had was not lost on this moment.

            She heard the back door slide opened and craned her head to see Cosima walk out and lean on the railing next to her. “You smoke?” Cosima asked, curious.

            “Used to.” She shrugged.

            “Doesn’t look like you ‘used to’ right now.”

            “Do you want one? I’m sure they’d give it to you.”

            “Nah man, I only smoke pot.”

            Delphine laughed a little and stared out at the muddy backyard. “I’m not surprised. You did say you from San Francisco.”

            “It’s actually not addictive, at least not like cigarettes.” She glanced at Delphine. “They aren’t too good for you.”

            “I haven’t in a while, Cosima. You do not need to worry about me.”

            “Hey I’m sorry about the car.”

            “About what?” Delphine was half laughing and half coughing as she said it.

            “The officer’s face. Actually, I’m not sorry about that I’m sorry about the fact that we were late and stuff and now you’re out here smoking and you’re already coughing and…” She looked at Delphine. “I had a plan for my life. This was not part of it.”

            “Which part? Me? DYAD?”

            “Love is never an intended thing, I don’t think.” Cosima looked out onto the yard. “I never planned to work for DYAD, to fall into the line of work I’m in now, and I planned to graduate college and become a scientist and I’m doing that. I’m doing just that, but I never intended to be doing all this on the side, being tied into a contract with a tyrannical filming company and when it happened I swore I wouldn’t bring anyone down with me, but look at you Delphine. I dragged you down with me.”

            “Cosima, this is _not_ your fault.”

            “My parents were paying for me to go to college. I managed to hide my sexuality for a while just to be safe because I wasn’t sure how they would react and it worked until one of my friends casually dropped it in conversation and my mom kind of flipped out. It’s all right now, but I had to get myself through college and my parents couldn’t really claim they had any true ties to me because I’m adopted. I don’t know who or where my actual parents are anymore. That’s how I got into this.”

            “Oh, Cosima.” Delphine let the cigarette fall to the ground and she ground it under the heel of her boot. “I am so sorry.”

            Cosima shrugged. “It’s not your fault anyhow. Don’t apologize.”

            Delphine took Cosima’s hand in hers as they both stared out at the yard. “Are you happy?” She asked.

            “What?”

            “Are you happy now? Are you happy with me?”  
            Cosima pressed into Delphine, leaning her head on her shoulder. “I am happy with you Delphine, but I want out from DYAD. I want to keep you with me, but I want out from DYAD and now they’ve locked you into another contract and same with me I’d guess and we’re getting paid, but how I am I supposed to become a respectable scientist if I keep doing this on the side? How are you supposed to be respected in the film-world if you keep doing this on the side as well? They guaranteed our privacy, but I want out.”

            “I love you, Cosima.”

            “Love you too.” They stood in silence, listening to the rain hit the roof of the house and the lawn in front of them.

            “I think we should hire a lawyer.”

            “Are you kidding? DYAD would kill you and you work for Leekie. You’d be putting your whole career at risk not to mention your life maybe. DYAD is like a cult; they’d kill you without even blinking. Rachel Duncan wouldn’t even get a spot of blood on her pretty white dress. We can get out of this ourselves, Delphine.”

            “ _Mon amour,_ please do not fool yourself. We need a lawyer.”

            The sliding door behind them opened and they both spun around to see one of the men leaning in the doorway. “Cops let ‘em go. They’ll be here in about twenty minutes; I would recommend getting ready or whatever now because they want to start filming almost immediately to make up lost time.” He paused and went to go back inside, but stopped. “Either Rachel or Leekie ‘s coming so I mean don’t screw around or it’s going to be the end of most of our career.” He sighed and took a drag on his cigarette. “Look I know y’guys probably think I’m a pervert for filming and editing this stuff and I can’t say I blame you, but I want to film real stuff professionally one day and this was the only work I could get that paid well.”

            Delphine nodded. “I know what you mean.”

            He smiled a little bit. “Yeah, but twenty minutes.” He squared his shoulders and cleared his throat before walking back in, building up his wall, pretending he didn’t just share a huge point about his life to two virtual strangers.

            “What’s his name?” Cosima asked.

            “Paul. Paul Dierden I think.”

            “Not a terrible guy.”

            “No, I suppose not.”

            Cosima looked at Delphine and smiled before leaning up on her tiptoes and quietly whispering in Delphine’s ear.

            “You wanna practice?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find me at machinerisms.tumblr.com


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *updates and pretends I didn't go MIA for 6 months*

            An exchange of kisses on the deck in the drizzling rain became more heated throughout the exchange. Delphine, she knew that she could wait (that she shouldn’t waste her energy now, anyways) and that she should probably should, but she didn’t want to. There was something about Cosima that was constantly drawing her in and addicting her. _Love is a drug_ , she thought quietly, Cosima’s lips teasing hers and decided that if love was in fact a drug she wanted more of it.

            Cosima’s hands wandered from around her waist where they were resting to her shoulders, drawing the sleeves down off her shoulders and moving her lips across her jaw, nipping her way towards her neck and now exposed collarbone. Delphine’s head tipped back, an involuntary moan escaping her lips as Cosima smiled into her skin.

            “Is this still considered practice?” Her question turned into more of a gasp.

            “Mm,” Whatever Cosima had to answer was lost as more of Delphine’s shoulder was exposed, her shirt half dragged down the front of her at this point. It was hard to believe that they weren’t being filmed this time, that maybe she could let go at this point and act upon what she wanted to do.

            This wasn’t practice and this wasn’t work and she suspected it hadn’t been for longer than she wanted to admit. She wanted to let it all go and be in this moment with Cosima, but Paul or Rachel or Leekie could burst in at any moment and… the last of her coherent thoughts were lost as Cosima kissed her on the lips and then her lips left hers and she heard Cosima’s knees hit the wooden deck.

            “Cosima,” She mumbled her name as Cosima unbuttoned her jeans dragged them down her legs, placing kisses at her hips.

            “Payback for the car.” She whispered, a devilish smile on her face

            “ _Mon dieu_ , Cosima what if Leekie and Rachel show up?”

            “Mm,” Cosima’s reply was lost again, her hands and mouth centimeters away from where she knew Delphine really wanted them to be. “Or that police officer,” She placed a kiss on the inside of Delphine’s thigh and she sighed.

            “Cosima,” Her voice was supposed to take on more of a warning tone but instead it came out weak and Cosima stood up and kissed her, her hand running along the outside of her panties.

            “What?” Her voice held a fake innocence as her hand slipped under the waistband and then her voice lowered. “Are you afraid I can’t make you come in time?”

            A groan escaped Delphine’s mouth and Cosima attached her lips to her exposed neck. “No, _mon amour_.”

            Her words wear lost as her breaths ran into her words. “I think that’s a challenge.” Cosima paused as Delphine’s breath hitched in her throat. “God, you’re so wet.”

            “ _Cosima.”_

“Mm?” She’s feigning ignorance as she pushes a long, slender finger into Delphine, enjoying’s the blonde’s head thrown back and eyes completely shut. The heel of her hand grazes the taller woman’s clit and she moaned, outright. “You have to be quiet.” Cosima whispered and added another finger.

            Delphine was worked up already, between their earlier encounter and the general atmosphere of the situation. Her lower lip was tucked under her teeth, digging in to stop from wanting to scream. Her hips were rolling into Cosima’s hand as her breath came out in ragged and frenzied beats and reality was slipping from her. Somewhere it registered that Cosima had added yet another finger and the quiet noises turned into more of a hoarse whine.

            They both heard the doorknob ring and Cosima still, Delphine shaking beneath her.

            “Cosima.” Her name was a powerful low rolling sound. “Cosima, don’t stop.”

            “They’re here.” Cosima hissed. “I should…” Her sentence was cut off.

            “Cosima,” Delphine held her eyes with her own. “Make me come.”

            Cosima’s hand moved faster and they could both hear the footsteps from inside the house. It picked up with a more frantic pace and Cosima locked her lips with hers, swallowing her moans as she curled her fingers and felt Delphine’s body shake under her fingertips, spasming wildly until she stopped.

            Cosima pressed another light kiss to her lips. She pulled out slowly and Delphine sighed, her body still shaking a little. The footsteps grew nearer and Delphine hurried to get her jeans back on and make her shirt look more presentable.

            “That was hot.” Cosima stood on her tiptoes and whispered in her ear. “You’re hot.” She pressed a kiss to her cheek.

            “Wow.” It was a hurried conversation and Delphine wrapped her arm around Cosima and lightly squeezed her ass. They both laughed a little. “I’m getting you back later.” She whispered.

            “For the amazing orgasm?” Cosima laughed. “I have zero problems with that. Zip, zero, none, goose eg…” She was cut off as the sliding door slid open and Leekie and Rachel stepped onto the deck. Delphine and Cosima nervously smiled at them.

            “Good afternoon.” Rachel was staring right at them and Delphine shifted a little under her eyes.

            “And to you Rachel.” Cosima rolled her eyes and laughed.

            “Is this what you do all day?” She asked.

            “You mean standing on a deck?”

            Rachel rolled her eyes and sighed impatiently. “No I mean when do you start doing your _job_?” She frowned.

            “Oh, yeah.” Cosima grinned. “You mean having sex with this girl?”

            “Cosima!” Delphine swatted her arm playfully.

            “Aldous you deal with them. I’m going back.” She made an aggravated sound and stormed into the house, Leekie following her.

            Cosima turned to follow, but Delphine grabbed her arm and leaned down. “You’re coming in my mouth once we get in there.”


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone,  
Thank you all for reading what I've written of this so far, but I've decided to stop writing this fic. I'm just not into the plot anymore and it doesn't feel right to keep writing it. I'm sorry, maybe I'll write some more OB stuff soon.  
Thanks,  
Floingmachines


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